The XYZ 1000 LR was delivered
quickly enabling Shield
Marquees to fulfi l orders for
Covid-19 testing
facilities
SUBCONTRACTING ADAPTING TO THE MARKET
Keeping the
machines running
Investment in vertical machining centre drives productivity at Shield
Marquee Manufacturing; three-machine package boosts Hopwood
Gears; pair of machines ensure high precision for RDMS
In these challenging times, subcontractors
have had to stay agile and keep the
machines running as much as possible so
they can boost production capacity and to
has ensure this, many have added new
machines to their shop- oors.
Atherstone-based Shield Marquee
Manufacturing has diversi ed its business
away from its usual customer base – the
hospitality industry – which has been heavily
impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, as the
company became part of the marquee
industry’s National Emergency Testing
Stations Network (NETS).
NETS has been central in supplying the
network of test centres with temporary
structures and the demand for quick
response, placed signi cant pressure on the
company’s manufacturing capability, driving
investment in an XYZ 1000 LR vertical
machining centre (VMC) from XYZ Machine
Tools ( www.is.gd/69Xtie ).
“With every structure containing multiple
machined components such as leg and ridge
knuckles, we found that our existing machine
capacity was limited, and the volumes we
were asked to produce were leading to
backlogs, which were not acceptable.
Therefore, we needed to improve that, and
very quickly,” explains director Matthew
Faizey.
While speed was crucial, Faizey was also
cautious and carried out due diligence online
of a select group of machine tool suppliers,
with XYZ Machine Tools coming out on top.
After XYZ received the order on a Friday
morning, the following Tuesday the machine
was delivered, commissioned and ready for
production, something Faizey says enabled
the rm to keep up with the strong demand
on this vital project.
“We are supplying between 20 and 30
testing sites per week and the associated
volume of parts meant we had to improve
ef ciency,” says Faizey.
“The XYZ 1000 LR is so much faster than
our previous machine, allowing us to produce
hundreds of parts/hour and, it also gives us
much greater versatility to machine variations
of those parts if required.”
XYZ Machine Tools managing director
Nigel Atherton explains while a two-day
turnaround from order to delivery is “the
exception”, the company knows it can deliver
any machine quickly, which has been fully
tested and quality assured in the factory
before despatch.
“In the current climate that is proving to
be of greater importance to customers who
need to react even quicker to constantly
changing demands,” adds Atherton.
MEETING DEMAND
Rising demand and a need to boost
production capacity, prompted Oldhambased
Hopwood Gears to sign a
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/69Xtie
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